Attack of the slime monster (not from outer space)
by niagaraweasel
Summary: the aftermath of a little mishap leads to a surprising revelation...


**Attack of the slime monster (not from outer space)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Body of Proof and intend no copyright infringement**

_for cedricsowner – and everybody else, who needs a little sunshine in their life…just not too much ;-)_

"Ow. Ow! OW!"

"Well, one thing obviously hasn't changed in the last twenty years – you're still a big baby."

Megan stood in the middle of the hotel room, one hand on her hip, while the other held a large bottle of slime green aloe gel, glaring down at the pitiful person griping and moaning on the chair in front of her.

"Hey….it HURTS!"

"Well, it's your fault you weren't wearing sunscreen! It's not as if you never got sunburned before! Remember that time when we…."

"Stop raking me over the coals, I'm in enough pain as it is!"

"I swear sometimes….." Megan mumbled under her breath.

True to form, Tommy kept squirming, which only caused his fire-engine red skin to rub against the back of the chair. "Ow!" he whined for what felt like the umpteenth time.

"If you don't stop squirming like a worm on the hook, I can't put the aloe gel on you, meaning you have to suffer even longer than you already have."

With a deep sigh, Tommy finally stopped squirming and sat still, grimacing.

"That's better." Megan leaned over him, squirted some of the gel into her hand and gently spread it on one of his arms. Tommy's pained frown melted into relief as the towering inferno of his skin dulled down to the manageable level of a small campfire.

"So, I get why you wanted to seize the opportunity to spend a few hours relaxing on the beach, but was there a reason why you didn't wear any sunscreen?" Megan asked. They had been in Oahu for a week, not for pleasure, but for a law enforcement conference Tommy had been….invited…. to attend. At first she hadn't wanted to come – spending one whole week in close proximity to a certain Tommy Sullivan was a sure-fire recipe for disaster, especially if it happened to be in a tropical paradise – but when she saw that there were also a large number of lectures, presentations and workshops covering forensics topics, she had finally given in. And she had to admit – if only to herself – that she hadn't regretted it. Not only had the week been surprisingly disaster-free, the conference itself had been very interesting.

"I don't know. Guess I just forgot…" Tommy answered, flinching when she began to work the aloe gel into his other arm.

"It hurts everywhere, Megs…." He sounded so sad and helpless that something seemed to melt inside her.

"Really everywhere? Don't tell me you dropped your pants sunbathing on the beach – I thought you only do that at sporting events," she teased.

"I feel like a little kid."

"Well, you're kind of acting like one. Must be your childlike spirit." Megan said, raising an eyebrow, as her hand moved up to cover his red shoulder.

"Thank God you're here to take care of me," Tommy said with a sigh, letting his head fall back against the chair.

"Well, mom always told me I'd make a good nurse. Although I don't think she had you in mind when she said that."

They fell silent for a moment while her hands, now thoroughly covered with almost glow-in-the-dark-green aloe gel, worked around his neck and down across his chest and stomach.

"Sorry for ruining your day…" Tommy said suddenly, his blue eyes looking at her seriously.

Megan stopped and looked into his face. "You didn't ruin my day. This entire trip has been the most interesting one I've had for a pretty long time."

"Really?"

Megan allowed herself a slight lapse in sanity and grinned as she tapped his nose with one aloe-covered finger. "Really."

"You know, I'm one lucky guy", Tommy said.

"You sure about that?" Megan asked with a skeptical look at the expanse of sunburned skin before her.

"Yeah, I don't know any other woman who would stay inside on a beautiful day like this – and in Oahu of all places – to take care of her stupid-" Tommy swallowed the word _boyfriend _at the last second – "colleague who forgot to put on sunscreen. I bet Adam wouldn't do this for me."

"Well, then it's a good thing you invited me instead of him", Megan smiled. "Alright, stand up and turn around, I need to get your back."

Tommy got up and turned his back to her. "How romantic... at least this time there aren't any sharp pointy objects in the vicinity."

"Hey, no complaining from you, mister."

Tommy shivered slightly, when her hands skirted along his back, the cold gel a welcome relief on his burning skin. He thought about how for the longest time he had thought he would never again have the chance to be with Megan again. He thought about their trip so far and about what the future might look like and his heart felt so full that it was liable to burst.

"I love you," he blurted out spontaneously to the room, not even turning around, the declaration had come out of his mouth so suddenly.

He felt her hands stop for a second, as she was obviously caught completely off-guard. Instantly, Tommy regretted his sudden outburst, afraid that it might have ruined the unspoken agreement between them to letting their relationship develop at its own pace.

"I love you too, dunderhead." The words were so low that they were barely audible, but he could – and he could also hear the affectionate smile in her voice."

"That's _mister _dunderhead to you", he said teasingly, to mask the relief he felt at not having ruined things – again.

"How about I just call you tomato-boy instead?"

"Ouch! Low blow…"

"Well, I just call 'em like I see 'em."

"If you weren't aloeing my back right now, I'd….. I'd tickle you."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh yes, I would!" Tommy declared, spinning around and starting to tickle her.

Megan all but shrieked and dropped the aloe bottle. "Not fair! I can't retaliate!"

"Well, maybe I should give you a big hug instead", Tommy suggested, smirking.

"NO! Not when you're pretty much covered in sticky, slimy aloe!"

"Oh and since when are you afraid of sticky and slimy? Well, you'd better run then…" Tommy laughed as he began chasing her around the room. She was laughing, really laughing and it was exactly the sound he remembered from the good times twenty years ago – the best sound he'd ever heard.

He'd gladly suffer through a few more sunburns, if it meant getting her to laugh with him like that again.


End file.
